The UK is in a difficult situation, if not a stalemate, following the general election, according to Valdai Club Programme Director Oleg Barabanov. According to him, a rejection of Brexit and other radical decisions cannot be ruled out.
The Conservative Party and Theresa May are deeply disappointed, because they expected quite a different result of the general election.
Theresa May’s Failure
Theresa May made the issue of early elections so acute because she was afraid that the Labour Party’s leadership would change. The campaign for Tony Blair’s return to politics and his becoming Labour leader instead of Jeremy Corbyn has already begun. In case Blair would become leader of the opposition, May’s election chances would be significantly lower, as Blair’s influence is much higher than that of Corbyn. Because of that, she decided to call for an election.
The election campaign was conducted poorly, most of all because Theresa May was in favor of rough measures on social policy, including stopping financing foster nurses for the elderly and cutting other medical preferences for pensioners. This led many pensioners, who traditionally voted for Tory, to vote against this party’s candidates. Other than that, during the election campaign, Theresa May and many other conservatives refused to take part in debates or give interviews to left-wing newspapers that traditionally favor Labour. This also played against her in the end.
Coalition Government
Jeremy Corbyn, who could be called the winner of these elections, already said that Theresa May lacks the moral right to head government, and he is largely right.
To hold power, Conservatives will have to enter into a coalition, with either the North Ireland parties or the Liberal Democrats. In any case, even if it is able to form a majority and a new cabinet, the coalition government will be much less stable than the one Theresa May had before the elections.
If the coalition does not work out, it is quite possible that new parliamentary elections will take place, this time with a Labour win.
Rejection of Brexit?
The European Union has already confirmed that according to their plan, the Brexit negotiations will begin exactly 11 days after parliamentary elections in Britain. As such, the existing or new UK government will have to conduct these negotiations straight away.
That means that the UK is currently in a rather difficult situation, if not a stalemate. The rejection of Brexit, which Labour actively speaks out against, cannot be ruled out, and neither can other radical decisions.
